CRITTER
Control
Story by Meg Dedolph
Photos by David Natt
The image of the neighborhood dogcatcher c hasing
Kovcr clown an alley with a net is slowly becoming ob
solete.
Today’s doge ateliers prefer to lie c ailed animal con
trol officers and spend as much time investigating castes
of animal abuse and neglect as they do rounding up
strays
At the untmal shelters, adoption and education are
tho two main goals
The animals at the Lane County Animal Regulation
Authority, the taxpayer-funded facility that serves the
entire county, are usually strays that were pic ked up by
an animal control officer or brought to tho shelter by a
citizen.
Less often, the animals are clogs that have bitten
someone and are In quarantine or are Involved in court
cases
liven though wild animals arc! not usually handled by
the county shelter, some of the stranger guests brought
in have been ruitliils, ferruts. chinchillas, roosters and
Vietnamese |>ol-t>elllcd pigs
"If we think It's been a pet, we'll take it." said animal
regulation supervisor Kandy Covey
Covey said the main role- of the Lane County shelter
is to enforce laws concerning animals, including llcx-ns
ing laws, complaints about stray clogs and charges of
iinimul .lhtiM*
‘A lot of people
say, “Gosh, this
Is harder than
adopting a child,'*
but It Isn't '
Mert Davis.
director ot Oreenhill
Humane Society
Most colls begin with
u complaint of »om«
Mirl for example, a
stray dog - which is
recorded on a cart! and
assigned to one of the
two or three officers on
duty
Covey said that in u
case like that, they en
courage the caller to
catch the dog them
selves Ixicnuse the dog
Is often gone when the
officer arrives
If thi! animal Is still loose when tho officer arrives. the
dog is either caught nr chased home, and the officer is
sues the dog's owner a citation
"It's a violation if the dog is off its own property."
Covey said, adding that owners can also (mi cited (or
failure to license their dog properly
Covey said that although most dogs come when
called, there are some "repeat offenders who don't like
riding in the trui k Hut we know who those are "
Cats are not handled by animal control officers ex
i opt in cases of abuse or negler 1
A typical day for an officer may include follow up
(alls on neglect cases, responding to calls concerning
Injured dogs or oats and patrolling for strays
"It's like a police officer," Covey said "If they're not
lixiking for murderers or investigating robfjorios, they're
setting speed traps."
inr snriuT iiirmiy '*»•» uuiu u|* m ~w
usually only five to 10 arc lioing hold, and out of the :t0
dog runs available. Covey said only lhree-i|uartors arc
typically full.
The estimated initial cost of taking a vehicle out to
pick up a stray dog and impounding it is S120, said
Covey, who also added that an SB boarding fin- is as
sessed for each day the dog stays in the shelter.
Out of the shelter-held animals that arc picked up in
the city of Eugene. 75 percent of them arc returned.
"Generally, people in the city make a conscientious
choice to have a dog." Covey said, explaining the high
return rate.
"In the county." Covoy said, "you run into people
who have dogs because it's the thing to do. When they
lone the dog. they don't like to look for It."
The animals that are not reclaimed by their owners
are put up for adoption, depending on their health, age,
history and "adoptability."
Usually, animals without an identification aro held
for 72 hours before being put to sleep, but they may be
held longer, depending on how "adoptable” the shelter
believes the animal is.
“Some people think wo're brood-prejudiced." Covey
said, "but we're not. If we have a Rottweilor who's
friendly and healthy, we'll put him up for adoption. We
don't put all the Rottweilors and Dobermans to sleep."
The adoption fees at the Lane County shelter are
$35.25 for a male dog, $45 25 for a femalo dog, SIB for a
male cat and $26 for a femalo cat. The prices include
spay/noutor fees, shots foes, a collar and identification
Chary! RtcNay, at Eugana, hold• a puppy (mbova) aha adoptad attar going through an axtanaiva tcnaning procats.
Bill Waugh taads ona ol tha dogs at tha Lana County Animal Ragulation Authority's kannal (balow).
lag for cats, and a leash, collar and one-year license for
dogN
Covey said that certain times of the year result in
more work for the shelter, r iling Fourth of )• 'y and ihe
accompanying fireworks as Ix-ing especially frightening
to dogs.
"Dogs gel scared," Covey said. "They need to come
inside and be with their family where they know
they’re safe "
Covey also said the shulter recommends people keep
their animals inside on Halloween bocause "people run
uround in weird costumes and dogs get scared or defen
sive. Also, chocolate is toxic to animals, so we tell peo
ple not to let their dogs have any candy.”
An increase in activity also occurs betwoen seasons,
Covey said. "There's an Increase in dog bites and dogs
at large during the summer," he said. "And in the win
ter. there's not so many animals running around." -
"We see more large animal complaints in the winter
— for example, horses left out." Covey said. “That's a
lack of information on the complainant's part, because
most stock animals are left outside."
The Creenhill Humane Society differs from the Lane
County sholter in that it is a privately funded business
and receives no funds from taxpayers, said Creenhill di
rector Mert Davis. “
Furthermore, CreenhlH's main goal is adoption and
not enforcement, unlike the Lane County shelter.
"We adopt out three to four times as many animals as
Lane County." Davis said.
The animals at Creenhill usually come from people
who don't want them or can't tump them.
"Dogs and cats make up 99.9 percent of what hap
pens." Davis said “We're not sot up to handlo exotics
or livestock."
Of the animals who are adoptable, then; is a 75 per
cent adoption rate. *
The overall adoption rate of all the animals that puss
through the shelter, including (host; that cannot bo put
up for adoption for reasons of health or ago, is 31 per
cent, which Davis said is an increase from 5 percent in
1987
Davis said the increased rate is because of the promo
tions and public appearances that Oreenhill does with
in the community, citing the "pet nights" at the Univer
sity.
People who want to adopt an animal from Groenhill
must present a photo identification and proof of ad
dress. If the person is a renter, a copy of the lease stat
ing that pets are permissible must also be presented.
"Frequently," Duvis said, "we have University stu
dents who come in to adopt, they givo us o phony ad
dress. wo chock it. and wo find out that it's Carson Hall,
which doesn't work."
Potential pet owners urc also asked a series of ques
tions, including where the animal will sleep. If the per
son knows a veterinarian, and if there are any small
c hildren in the home
"A lot of people say. 'Cosh, this is harder than adopt
ing a child,' but it Isn't," Davis said.
Spaying or neutering the animal is also a requirement
for any animal adopted from a shelter, according to city
and county code
"We wunt to put thn animal into a home where trie
animal will be happy as a pot." Davis said.
Davis said the spay/neuter laws have made a differ
ent* in the nuinixir of animals that pass through the
shelter He said in the 1970s, Groenhill alone handled
more than 30.000 dogs a year, but now between Green
hill and the Lane County shelter, only 12.000 dogs are
handled each year.
Like the Lane County shelter, the Fourth of July is
also a busy time for Greenhill
"Wo had the biggest excitement this year when we
found out that the fifth of July was on a Sunday, and
we're closed on Sunday. We didn’t have to take calls
from people whose pets ran off on the Fourth.” Davis
said.
"If people would just put a collar and tag on every *
pet and have their dogs licensod," Davis said, "that
would make our job easier.
"Poople say that they don't want to put a collar on
their cat because they're afraid the cat will go and hang
itself on a tree." he said, "but It's more likely the cat
will be put to sleep in a shelter if It doesn’t have a col
lar."
Adoption fees at Greenhill are $57 for a male dog.
$67 for a female dog, $36 for a male cat and $40 for a fe
male cat.
In the case of dogs, the price includes the costs of
spaying or neutering, a collar and leash, vaccination,
worm and flea treatments and food samples. For cats,
the price includes the costs of a cat carrier, a spay or
neuter foe, a tag and collar, and for an additional $10
refundable deposit, a video callod "Your New Cat."
which the owners are encouraged to watch.